The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) on Monday agreed to cooperate in the upcoming general elections, and formed committees to chalk out the modalities of the alliance.
Talking to reporters after a meeting with JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif said his party wanted to stop those people who were against free and fair elections, and were trying to delay them.
He said both the parties had agreed to strengthen democracy by supporting timely, fair and free elections. He said the two parties had formed committees to devise strategy for their alliance.
Nawaz said the formation of caretaker setup, particularly at the federal level, was discussed during the meeting. He said he was in favour of consultation with all stakeholders for caretaker setup at the federal and provincial levels.
He praised Fazl as a democrat working for peace. He said he supported cooperation between all parties before and after the elections to overcome the multifarious challenges facing the country.
Nawaz confirmed that his party would attend the All Parties Conference (APC) being convened by the JUI-F in Islamabad on February 28 for peace in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). Sources said that Nawaz had named Chaudhry Nisar, Zafar Iqbal Jhagra and Raja Zafarul Haq for the PML-N delegation participating in the APC.
Speaking on the occasion, the JUI-F chief said that an agreement had been reached with the PML-N to have consensus on the names for the caretaker government. He said the PML-N and the JUI-F shared identical views on national issues, adding that both the parties would cooperate with each other in the elections.
Replying to a question, Fazl said that Taliban’s offer for talks was a positive development, which should be responded in a positive way. He said it was necessary that all the political forces should devise a collective stance about the talks with the Taliban before considering who would be the guarantor for the Taliban.
On this occasion, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said the PML-N was holding consultations with other opposition parties about caretaker prime minister. He said that constitutionally, consultations between the prime minister and leader of the opposition would be held once the assembly was dissolved.
Senior PML-N leaders including Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Raja Zafarul Haq, and Iqbal Zafar Jhagra were also present on the occasion.